Wednesday, November 18, 2015

GOP Lawmaker Argues Need to Keep Syrian Refugees Out of Texas & Cites Easy Access to Guns as One Reason

This would almost be funny, if it were not so sad and even pathetic.

There has been a rise of anti-immigrant sentiment sweeping Western nations in the aftermath of the Paris attacks, and that certainly includes here in the United States. This trend has been particularly pronounced among members of the Republican party, often known as the GOP. Numerous presidential candidates have suggested since the Paris attacks that Syrian refugees should not be accepted into the country, and 27 GOP governors stated that they would not accept Syrian refugees in their states, even though they do not actually have the legal right to deny Syrian refugees into their states (which they may or may not be aware of).

In one particularly absurd case, in Texas, a member of the GOP even used the easy access to guns in his state to justify denying Syrian refugees.

Of course, he did not mention that the GOP champions easy gun access to all, and likens any restrictions to that gun access as an infringement on constitutional rights and a betrayal of the American value system, even to people with backgrounds of criminality or mental issues. Yet, here is this one member of the GOP who seems to be saying it is far too easy to get guns in Texas now that Syrians could be arriving onto American shores soon.

Pretty amazing, and the hypocrisy is likely clear for everyone, except maybe for the gun advocates and racists who allow their prejudices to inform their positions on everything, rather than their common sense and intelligence.

Texas GOP lawmaker: Keep Syrian refugees out of our state because it’s too easy to get a gun here by Tom Boggioni, 17 NOV 2015: